Antipathy
by ChroniclerOfInsanity
Summary: A "What if" of sorts...  A  twist on Nuka being less comic relief and more like Scar than anyone realizes. Warning: Character death!


Antipathy

It wasn't really his fault... not really. No one took Nuka seriously.. In some ways he was even more like Scar than Kovu was. Ever since the arrival of his little brother and sister, Nuka had.. well, he'd been tossed aside.. But really, the problem went farther back than that... much farther.

Nuka was born during the end of Scar's reign, and was actually able to boast that he was looked upon by the object of his mother's affections. However, as the scrawny, ungainly little infant began to grow into a scrawny ungainly little cub, Scar found himself looking at what could have been. It could have easily been this way had it not been for his family's love. And his family had loved him dearly.. even when he'd become a misanthropic, sour adolescent, they'd loved him. Maybe it was the fact that looking at someone who, despite the hardships, was happy and loved him unconditionally, reminded him even more of what he had done.

As it stood, Scar couldn't bear to look at Nuka for more than one fleeting moment at a time. Every time he did, those old memories would surface and cruelly remind the monarch of what he had lost.

Nuka, however, didn't know any better, and loved his father figure with all his little cubby heart and soul could muster, insistent that he spend time with him. Even little tiny bits of attention, such as a word or a toy like an old bit of bone was more important to him than anything, and he would treasure them. And for a while, in his mind anyway, life was good.

Then the new cubs came along, and Nuka was forced to take a back seat to their care. Slowly, the young lion would see the attention paid to him dwindle and fade. As his mother in a desperate attempt to gain

favor with her king would pour all her care into these two cubs and even then more into Kovu, who fit the King's liking, she would soon completely forget about him. And he would resent her.. and him.. for the rest of his life for it.

Oh for a short while it would be forgotten.. when Simba returned, sending the only "father" he'd ever known to his death. His hatred would be directed towards the usurper, and like his sister and brother, and all the pride that was exiled with Zira, he would be trained into a fighting machine. But the years of neglect both past and present would take their toll. His coat would grow dull and lifeless, as he was told

to stand aside so that his brother could partake the best parts of their meager kills.. and the mane that once proudly stuck out on his head and chest, would never fully grow in.. He would become a thin, scraggly scrump of a lion with no prospects of finding a mate, nor any pride outside of the outlands that would take him. So he nurtured his rage, letting it grow and blossom, and trained as hard as any of his mother's followers.

But it was a fateful day when realization hit him harder than the kick of a zebra...He'd just made his way back to the Outlands, having lost his little brother.. He didn't know what he was going to tell his mother.. Maybe the kid would show up again.. Maybe he already had! Walking along the low lying scrub and termite mounds, he muttered to himself.

"Kovu, Kovu, Kovu. Scar wasn't even his father. He just took him in."

Movement caught his eye, and he lifted his head looking to see who it was. To both his relief and irritation in one, it wasn't Kovu, but his sister, Vitani. While she had been the same age as his "little bother" brother, Kovu found someone to confide in and connect with in his little sister, who seemed to be the only one who paid him any mind at all. Wandering up, he watched her snarl and growl, pulling on an old, gnarly root protruding from the ground.

"Oh hey, Vitani," he said, sitting down next to her, not waiting for an answer. "Where's the little termite, Kovu? The CHOSEN one..."

His sarcasm punctured the air, followed by laughter as he cut the root with one claw, sending his sister rolling along the ground. The little golden cub came to a halt, shaking her head to clear it. Glaring at her

brother, she spoke.

"Nuka! Where's Kovu? Did you leave him out there on his own again?"

Nuka was always abandoning Kovu, and when he wasn't, the cub was constantly trying to

ditch him. Usually Kovu could count on Nuka not really making an effort to go find him. His brother hated him. This time was no different.

"Hey, it's every lion for himself out here," the adolescent whined, scratching himself in a vain attempt to relieve the constant itching. "That little termite's gotta learn to be on his own..."

Shrugging her shoulders, her sister regarded him with a disapproving gaze that held a great deal of warning.

"Mother's gonna be mad... She told you to watch him!"

"Oh who cares? I shouldn've been the chosen one.."

His sudden scratching against a broken tree trunk ceased as he realized what he'd said... He should have been... It should ave been him.. He was the oldest.. the strongest.. the smartest... He should have been the star of the show.. but nooo.. The little termite had to have it all.

"Nuka, move! Your brother needs his nourishment!"

"Nuka, go catch something for Kovu.. I want him in good condition for training."

"Nuka, go watch your brother. Make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

"Why weren't you watching him? Do you WANT to lose our only chance of regaining the pridelands?"

"Faster! You aren't moving fast enough.."

"Why can't you be more like your brother..."

As the dam inside him broke, he did his best not to let it show. Instead, he starts routing the fleas in his fur with his tongue, muttering to himself..

"I could be a leader, if she'd just give me a chance..."

A snicker erupted from Vitani.. Nuka was many things.. loyal.. goofy... dedicated.. but leader material?

"Yeah right," she snarked, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you tell that to her..."

Watching him turn, his sister suddenly noticed a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Don't think I won't," he says with an eerie smile. Already his mind was formulating a plan.

Shortly thereafter, his mother arrived, Kovu in tow. He sat dutifully, giving the matriarch of the family simple "Yes" and "No,Ma'am" answers until Kovu came to his brother's defense, saying that he'd gone off on his own. He'd only rolled his eyes when things escalated into her latest plot to get Kovu romantically involved with Simba's daughter. Following the others inside, he'd waited patiently until the others were asleep, and began to plan.

The next few weeks were more of the same: training, babysitting, plotting, and planning. During that amount of time, Nuka slowly began to "warm up" to Kovu. He had to gain the cub's trust.. It was all part of the plan. As the days passed, the lion knew time was slowly running out. If he didn't act soon, while Kovu was still a cub.. he'd grow too strong for Nuka to handle.

It was a sunny morning when Nuka offered to take Kovu for a training run near one of the gorges farther back in the outlands. It was harsh terrain, but he insisted it would give the chosen one a challenge.

Kovu obediently followed his sibling out towards the rocky ledges. At first, Nuka started off at a brisk trot, allowing Kovu to keep the pace behind him, and slowly made it up to a short run.. He didn't want to lose Kovu.. not this time, just get him moving forward. He was counting on his

brother's focus to benefit him.

"Now," he instructed Kovu, beginning to weave in and out of line, "I'm an antelope.. try to take me down!"

In an attempt to follow his elder's request, Kovu began to dart with him, hoping to catch his "prey" by surprise. As he followed, Nuka changed his pace, becoming more erratic. Hearing his brother close in, he darted, causing the cub to roll. Kovu was quick to right himself, but the momentum propelled him over the edge of a nearby cliff, where he now clung on for dear life, trying to scrabble up the unforgiving stone.

As his claws slipped on the rock, he called out..

"Nuka! Help!"

But the lion stood firm... quiet.. strangely distracted. Almost.. as though he hadn't heard him. At the cub's imploring voice, he turned, an unusual smirk on his face.

"Oh... slipped, did we?" Nuka innocently inquired, padding up to the point where his brother's life lay in the balance. Yet he made no move other than to stare into those frightened green eyes.. the eyes that had mocked him in his dreams.

"Nuka..." Kovu gazed behind at the drop that awaited him. "A-a-aren't you gonna help me?"

"Now why would I do that?" he asked, sitting down and washing a paw.

"Because," he squeaks, scrabbling against the rock again. His grip was slipping...

"We're..."

"Brothers?" Nuka scowled down at him. "Are we? Are we, oh chosen one?"

He prowled the edge, scowl turning to a hate filled glare, boring into the cub."You stole her from me..." he accused. "You stole her from me.. and every chance I ever had to be loved... You stole it all.. You

trapped me... and now I'm going to make you pay."

His little brother's eyes filled with fear. Nuka couldn't help but laugh. It was perfect. He had him right where he'd wanted him. As Kovu slipped, Nuka lunged, plunging his claws into his brother's paws, smirking inwardly at the cub's cry of pain.

"You're supposed to save us..." he hissed. "Let's see if you can save yourself."

And, in a gesture far more close to his former idol's than he realized, Nuka flung his brother from the cliffside, sending him into the jagged rocks had been quite a sight for Zira seeing her son return alone, babbling some nonsense about Kovu slipping on the cliffs while they were training.

"I wasn't fast enough!" he'd near choked out.

Startled and upset, Zira followed him to the gorge, where she found her son's words to be true, and the sides of the cliffs echoed with her cries of mourning.

The next few days were almost surreal. As the pride mourned the loss of Kovu, Zira was forced to cope with the loss of not only her chosen one.. but her son. In a gesture of "love", Nuka had helped out, keeping things in order as best he could. It was one morning, early, when he'd awakened the others and taken them and his sister out to a hunting spot. It was shortly thereafter, once the girls had dispersed and were out a farther distance that he offered to go back and "check" on his mother. The pride sisters, he knew, would be busy trying to get something for them to eat without being caught on the border. The hard part had been convincing Vitani to stay there and wait for him, but after a bit of talking, he'd managed.

Now, with the others out of the way, he loped back towards the termite mounds…today was the day.

His mother, still asleep stirred lightly, turning over. For a moment, he hesitated.. could he truly.. No! This was not the time for hesitation. Moving forward, he fluidly strode up, placing a single paw on her throat, pricking it lightly with his now unsheathed claws. The sudden pressure on her windpipe brought

her to, eyes snapping open to find the only son she had left towering over her.

"Hello, mother." Nuka's red eyes glowed in the dim light, looking eerily pleased.

"Nuka?" She gazed at him, not quite awake, though that was quickly remedied when he pressed down lightly, cutting off her air. Adrenaline flowed through her as she gasped. For a moment, he relented, giving her just enough room to grab a few ragged breaths.

"I'm sorry, did I choke you?" He asked, staring down at her. "I didn't mean to..."

Staring up, disbelieving at her son, she saw him grin.

"Oh, why so startled? Did you really think I wouldn't remember how you neglected me?" He pressed down lightly, not quite cutting off her air, but slowly suffocating her.

"Did you really think... that I'd be under your claws forever?"

She struggled again, but it was noticeably weaker. Her son's laughter thundered in her

ears.

"Nuka," she rasped, head swimming lightly. Her vision was curling black around the edges like grass in a wildfire before it slowly smoulders into blackened char. "Why?"

"Why, she says?" Nuka snarled, getting nose to nose with her. "Why indeed... 'Nuka, Kovu needs to eat, Nuka.. Kovu's the chosen one... Nuka, why can't you be like your brother... and she asks me why..." He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Kovu.. Kovu.. Kovu..."

Realization dawned on Zira one moment too late.. of everything. A dark chuckle reached

her ears over the sound of her own asphyxiation as he pressed down harder, toying with her as she'd done prey long ago.. the figure scowled down at her, a twisted bitter smile, gnarled like the roots

protruding from the walls burned into her soul. The query echoed in her ears, fading from existence as her own flame was snuffed.

"Well...I finally got your attention didn't I?"

He didn't wait for an answer. When her body stilled, he mouthed her throat, satisfied with the crunch of her windpipe in his jaws. Then he lifted his head, maw wet with blood. The others would be coming soon...

Lifting himself to his feet, he turned, looking at his mother's lifeless corpse. He knew if he stayed, the pride would kill him for his treachery.. but it mattered little now..

He was finally free.


End file.
